If you bought an acrylic/latex primer made for wood it will be fine. The finish paint needs to be an acrylic/latex semi-gloss or gloss to take the abuse that it will be receiving and needs to be the premium product from the paint company. Also you need to apply two coats over the primer.

It sounds as if you have an older painter that likes to use oil based products and in their day they were the thing to use.

Actually, this painter is in her 30s and her husband is my hubby's age -- early 50s. But both of them have a very strong know-it-all attitude, and that really put me off them. I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but if the label and the paint store employees tell me a paint is suitable for wood, then why shouldn't I believe them?!?

I ended up hiring another painter, a semi-retired friend, who was quite pleased with the quality of product I'd purchased (he said his wife buys the cheapest stuff imaginable) and has done a wonderful job.

Any painter that insists on Oil, AND says Latex won't adhere to wood...IS NO painter!!!

Oils will soon become dinosaurs anyway. The latex technology is getting so good now, that Oils are almost moot...NOW!

What brand/series primer and paint did you get?!?

And yes...2 coats of paint on primer is necessary. Only 1 coat of paint on a primer is substandard practice. I don't care how good a painter is!

(I work at a store -NOT a "big-box" - that sells thousands of gallons/yr. ACE-Royal, C2, & Ralph-Lauren)

Faron